Case study

Minchenden Lodge is a small residential care home in Southgate, North London. Owned by AgeCare, it supports up to 21 residents with dementia care, residential care and respite care. 

The home has held a CQC Outstanding rating since 2019. For Sara Gallagher, Head of Care and Nursing at AgeCare, maintaining that standard takes more than good intentions. It takes clear information, strong evidence and teams who can see what each resident needs without losing time to paperwork.

The challenge

Outstanding care needs consistency. At Minchenden Lodge, the team wanted to protect the high standards residents and families already trusted. That meant keeping care records accurate, making information easier to find, giving staff better visibility of daily care and making activities more meaningful for residents.

Before introducing PCS, care planning relied on typed documents and paper records. Quality could vary. Notes were sometimes hard to read. Information could be misfiled, damaged or difficult to track down when staff needed it quickly.

It also makes evidence harder to gather during inspections, audits or internal reviews. For a home working hard to keep an Outstanding rating, that matters. Minchenden Lodge needed digital systems that would support care quality without adding more work for staff.

How PCS helped

PCS Care gives the team clearer care records and better evidence

Minchenden Lodge uses PCS Care (formerly mCare) to record and evidence care in real time. Instead of relying on paper documents, staff can update care notes, care plans, risk assessments and daily records digitally. That gives the team a clearer view of what has happened, what still needs doing and where support may be needed.

PCS Care also helps staff find information faster. If there is an audit, inspection or incident review, managers can access the details they need without searching through paper files.

The value is simple. Care information is easier to read, easier to trust and easier to act on.

Increase in care productivity

Sara and the team describe time saving as one of the biggest changes. With PCS Care, staff spend less time typing up notes, searching for documents or pulling together evidence manually. That gives them more time back in the day.

For residents, that means more time for conversation, hobbies, outings and community events. For staff, it means less pressure at the end of a shift and more confidence that care has been recorded properly as it happens.

The system also helps new, agency or covering staff get up to speed faster. Key resident information can be found quickly, rather than buried in a long paper care plan.

PCS Wellbeing supports richer activities and wellbeing

AgeCare uses PCS Wellbeing (formerly Oomph!) across its homes to support resident engagement and wellbeing.

At Minchenden Lodge, PCS Wellbeing gives staff access to a wide range of activity ideas, exercises, quizzes, reminiscence content and dementia-friendly resources. That helps the team move away from repeated paper-based activities and build sessions around what residents enjoy.

The platform is especially useful when residents need something more tailored. Staff can use PCS Wellbeing on tablets, TVs or other devices, whether residents are joining a group session or spending time in their room.

For people living with dementia, small group quizzes and activities can help spark conversation, memory and connection. The original story gives a lovely example of residents encouraging each other during quiz sessions, with the sense of achievement carrying into the rest of the day.

What changed

PCS helps Minchenden Lodge protect the standard of care it is known for. The team can record care more clearly, find information faster and gather evidence with less admin. Managers have better visibility of care across the home. Staff have more time to spend with residents.

PCS Wellbeing also gives the team more ways to support wellbeing. Activities feel fresher, more flexible and easier to adapt around each person.

Together, PCS Care and PCS Wellbeing support the two sides of Outstanding care: strong evidence behind the scenes and meaningful daily experiences for residents.

Supporting the standards Minchenden Lodge is known for

Minchenden Lodge has maintained its CQC Outstanding rating for years because quality is part of its daily rhythm. PCS helps support that rhythm, giving the team clearer records, better evidence and more time back from admin.